"We're Not Out To Hurt Anybody."

By Robin Woodson

Yakima -- It may not be what you believe, but it's still a religion.

Pagans say they're usually misunderstood and rarely given a fair shot.

This is no movie, no Hollywood set, no game of dress-up.

You're going inside a very real and very reclusive religious ritual, performed by Pagans.

They call themselves Wiccans.

You know that to mean witch.

But they want you to understand what that means.

"We don't go around sacrificing virgins, or killing goats, we don't ride on brooms, but if we did it would definitely save on gas," Wiccan, Kevin Cline, said.

They're members of The Church of the Sacred Moon.

People often confuse them with devil-worshipers.

"We don't believe in the devil or absolute evil for that matter, that's a completely separate religion all together," Church founder, Reverend Melvin T. Neifert, explained.

"We worship nature and the things that Mother Earth holds for us and the gifts that we receive from her," Church member, Kris Allan, said.

Wiccans don't believe in one God, they believe in many, or a God and a Goddess.

They do use spells and magic.

"They're ritual tools used to direct energy," Allan explained.

They say it's a way of healing and prayer.

"Wiccan is a religion that's based off a closeness with mother nature," Church member, Kasey Hudson, said.

They don't celebrate a traditional Easter and Christmas, instead, they hold 8 seasonal rituals called Sabbats, which mean celebration.

Reverend Melvin T. Neifert is the founder and president of Yakima's only recognized Pagan Church.

Born and raised in Selah, the Reverend says, he grew up going
to St. Michael's Episcopalian Church with his family.

By his early teens, he realized he needed a change.

He says, in his 20's, he discovered Paganism and used the internet to find others like him in town.

"What I was seeking was like-minded people who wanted to learn about the Old Religion, Paganism, Wicca, Witchcraft," Neifert explained.

Melvin says it wasn't easy.

He says early portrayals of witches left a permanent and tainted view on the way they're looked at today.

Members of his group say, it's hard to break away from the stereotypes.

"Wands are nothing like you see on Harry Potter or anything like that," Allan joked.

Members of the church say their practice is about peace and over the centuries, more and more religions have become accepted.

But they say they're still fighting for the freedom to express theirs.

"I've lost jobs, I lost one just because I wore, I was wearing a ring that had a pentagram, which is a symbol of our religion, I don't think it's right that everybody else gets to wear their religious symbols and we don't," The Reverend said.

He believes Paganism is becoming more recognized throughout the world, but not in Yakima.

"If you tell someone you're Wiccan, all of a sudden, sometimes, you get the occasional, oh get away from me," Hudson said.

"You get that feeling when somebody doesn't want to sit by you on the bus because they see ring or a necklace or you say something," Allan added.

"We're not out to hurt anybody, we just want to be left alone and allowed to practice as our constitution guarantees us
that right," Neifert said.

The Church holds regular group meetings on Sundays, they invite anyone from any religion to come in and listen.